Hip-hop turns 50 this summer, and its influence has been felt in all corners of the globe. From the streets of the Bronx to a revolution in Beirut, from anti-apartheid messages in Cape Town to graffiti in Cairo. Throughout the summer, we will be exploring Planet Hip Hop.

It only took one listen for musician Sergei Grin (a.k.a. “Gringo”) to hear the blues and know that's what he was meant to play. Grin, who is originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, now travels around Serbia with his guitar, singing American country music and blues. 

In many ways, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become a war of identity and self-expression. Many Ukranians are turning to tattoos to show their patriotism.

The Razzouk family in the Old City of Jerusalem has been doing Christian-themed tattoos going back to the 1300s. Today, tattoo artist Wassim Razzouk and his sons carry on a Coptic Christian tradition of tattoo artistry, attracting people who come from all over the world to the family shop to get inked.

​​​​​​​In 1989, the Ukrainian punk rock band Vopli Vidopliassova released an album called “Tantsi” or “Dances.” In 2019, the original session tape was rediscovered, and in 2023, Tantsi was finally officially released.

They call themselves the Gomi Hiroi Samurai — or the “Samurai Who Pick Up Litter.” These sword-wielding eco-warriors have turned garbage collecting into a choreographed performance. 

​​​​​​​Despite the ongoing attacks, Ukrainians around the world are celebrating Vyshyvanka Day on Thursday. The vyshyvanka is an elaborately embroidered shirt or dress traditionally worn in Ukraine.

​​​​​​​The Romanian blouse, IA, is one of the best-known symbols of Romania’s culture. But cheap replicas manufactured in China and India threaten the future of the homegrown industry.

At the start of the war in Ukraine, much of Russia's cultural elite fled the country, including playwrights, filmmakers, artist and curators. A year on, they have established themselves in new cities across the world, a century after a previous exodus of Russian writers and artists reshaped global culture.

In the small village of Capurgana, at the entrance to the Darién jungle and near Colombia’s border with Panama, hundreds of villagers now work as guides and porters leading migrants across the rainforest.